eVOICE for November 26, 2024



GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH



The First Sunday of Advent

December 1, 2024


We will be celebrating virtual Eucharist with Transfiguration Church via Zoom at 9:00 am, and Holy Eucharist in-person at Good Shepherd Church 10:30 am.

Good Shepherd Mission Statement

We are a people who hear the Good Shepherd's voice.

We know by faith that we belong to God.

We are called to seek and love our neighbors as God loves us!

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

Happy Thanksgiving!


Please join your Good Shepherd family for a Thanksgiving Potluck in the parish hall at 5 pm Thursday November 28th. Enjoy a time of fellowship, a sharing of thanks, and good food with your fellow parishioners. Look for a signup sheet in the Narthex or email joeburckle@yahoo.com for additional information.

decorated_turkey.jpg

GIVE US A HAND…The Needlers are going to make a new banner for the narthex. The old banner has faded and some of the fabric is frayed. We’ve decided to do a banner that includes images of hands. At Shrine Mont we traced the hands of a few parishioners to use as patterns for fabric hands. We would like to invite anyone in the congregation to provide their hand for a pattern. Then we would like each person who had their hand traced to paint their fabric hand for the banner. We will set up a day in January to do the painting in the St. Francis room. If you are interested in participating in this activity please let Marca Woodhams know. See me at church or reach me at 301-587-8834 or woodhamsmarca2@gmail.com

The Crossway Community Giving Tree will be UP December 1! For many years, we at Good Shepherd have had a Christmas outreach to Crossway Community, which is located not far away in Wheaton. (Crossway community includes a school, apartments, and an intergenerational learning center. Crossway describes itself as an entrepreneurial, community based, nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote creativity and community for all families.  Please go to their website to learn more.)


For those of you who attend in-person church and want to participate: 

1. Pick a tag from the tree. Each tag this year represents a specific child along with that child's hoped-for gifts. This will enable you to pray for that child and their family along with doing your shopping.

2. Bring your purchases unwrapped and in a bag to church on Sunday, 12/8, Sunday, 12/15, or to the food drive 12/7 between 11:00-12:00.

3. NEW THIS YEAR: Securely attach the tag you have chosen to the bag in which you enclose your gifts.


Questions can be addressed to Diane Janesko, Lillian Luksenberg, or Lynn Wood. For those of you who want to participate but do not attend the in-person service, contact Lillian Luksenberg before Dec. 15 for alternate plans.   


Our Annual Pledge Campaign


Our annual pledge campaign has been extended. We are extremely grateful to the 27 people who have already pledged a total of $188,000. We need a little over $45,000 to meet our goal. We have heard testimonials from Lillian Luksenburg, Ana Curtis, Vonnie Schoppelrei, and Debbie Beebe as to why they are committed to supporting our congregation. If you have not yet pledged, please give serious thought to what support you can give.

Statewide Action for a Just Democracy - On Sunday, November 17th, 729 people from ACT, PATH, and AIM gathered at St. John the Evangelist Church in Columbia for our Statewide Action for a Just Democracy! (Three members of Good Shepherd attended this meeting.) We announced our new statewide collective, the Maryland Just Power Alliance, and committed to standing in solidarity with marginalized people and participating in our democracy. We gained commitments from the Maryland Comptroller, the Maryland Department of Housing, and 12 state senators & delegates to work with us this year on climate (ReNEW Act), housing (Housing Production Targets), renters’ rights (Good Cause Eviction) and pre-K expansion. Then, we made our own commitments to come to Annapolis this winter to meet with our state legislators and make our voices heard on these issues.

An Adult Education Offering for the Season of Advent: "Living Into Our Baptismal Covenant"- Join Deacon Linda Mahler and Lynn Wood for an open and far-ranging discussion of how we as Episcopalians can live into the baptismal covenant we have made that calls us to faithfulness in our relationship with ourselves, with God, and most especially with our neighbors. This discussion seems particularly important in these uncertain times, and with violent conflicts raging in many parts of the world,  We will meet on Zoom on Tuesday evenings in Advent, 12/3, 12/10, and 12/17, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM. For more information or to get the Zoom link, please email Linda at deacon@gmail.com or Lynn at greglynn2@verizon.net


Wednesday Bible Study - 11:30 am in-person with Deacon Linda Mahler 


Food Drive Collection, Saturday, Dec. 7 11 am


Telephone prayer meeting every Thursday at 9:15 am. The number to call to join the prayer meeting is 508-924-2778. If you have any questions contact Lynette Clark at 301-357-1726. 

 

From the Worship Team: 

We are delighted to announce that Randy Wilkinson will become our long-term supply priest starting on December 1st.


We are hard at work to make sure that worship at Good Shepherd is both beautiful and meaningful. There are several ways you can let us know how we’re doing, share ideas about what would make worship more fulfilling for you, or ask us questions:

  • Come to a worship team meeting. Email Linda (mahlerlindal@gmail.com) for the Zoom link.
  • Use this online form to give written feedback: bit.ly/GSECworshipfeedback. We see your comment as soon as you post it. 
  • Talk to one of us at church on Sunday.

The conversation continues.… Ray, George, Debbie, Linda and Lynn

Donating through Servant Keeper: Good Shepherd continues to be blessed by all of YOUR generous support! Thank you!! The Vestry and the Finance Committee are faithful and committed stewards of our finances. We now have expanded our online giving capability through our existing Servant Keeper application. This allows you to add the processing fees to your donated amount so the church is not paying them, as we do for PayPal. (The church is currently paying PayPal fees up to $2,000 per year.) The link for donating through Servant Keeper is: https://giving.servantkeeper.com/good-shepherd-episcopal-churchIn the upper right corner are 2 green buttons: click on "sign up" to start your account. Servant Keeper will find your prior history and you can then establish a personal account (name and password). There are 2 modes of payment (credit card or bank transfer (ACH). There will be a checkbox to indicate whether you want to pay the fees for the donation. If you have any problems with setting this up, call Debbie at 240-393-5614. The advantage of having this account is you will have direct access to all your donations!!

MESSAGE FROM SENIOR WARDEN


Our 2024 Annual Giving Campaign has been extended! Each year we ask for your pledge to contribute whatever you are able to help us budget for the coming year 2025. Thanks to Lillian Luksenburg Ana Curtis, and Vonnie Schoppelrei who gave inspiring testimonials the last 3 Sundays. Their messages will be posted on our website if you weren't able to be there to hear them.


Our theme this year is Courageous Discipleship where we seek to join our Savior in caring for others by generously sharing what we have been given. We have many reasons to be grateful including our Deacon Linda, our Pastoral Care Team, our Diocese, our congregation and two other congregations all of whom worship in our beautiful sanctuary, Bible study, our Prayer Group and our ministries including the Food Drive, Refugee Response, Crossways Community, Shepherd's Table and a Core Team for Action in Montgomery (AIM). 


Our goal this year is $235,000 in pledges for 2025 and we have received $188,000 to date. We have mailed letters and pledge cards to everyone in our directory (let me know if you did not receive them) and pledge cards are available in church on the side table. You may mail or bring your pledge cards to church (place them in the offering plate or in the lockbox on the table). You may also pledge on our website www.https://gsecmd.org


Your financial support is crucial for sustaining and strengthening our congregation and its ministries. Feel free to call me with any questions! 


Love and blessings, Debbie

SOCIAL OUTREACH

EPPN ACTION ALERTS


Call on Congress to block military sales to Israel Please reach out to your member of Congress and ask them to support the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval and stop sending offensive weapons to Israel! 


The Lectionary as an Advocacy Resource There is something steadying and comforting about having a predictable rhythm to the church year, especially in a world that can feel chaotic. Read more.


For questions please contact Lynette Clark at 301-357-1726 or ilovegoldens12@gmail.com


Shepherd’s Table is asking Good Shepherd for volunteers. Please follow this link for opportunities to volunteer or reach out to Daniella Burgos dburgos@shepherdstable.org. Thank you!


Grocery Shopping for our Food Collection- All nutritious staples are happily received.

- Tuna, Salmon, or Chicken, in water

- Dry or canned beans (low sodium, if possible)

- Natural nut butters

- Brown rice (16 oz)

- Whole grain pasta

- Pasta sauce in plastic jars

- Canned vegetables (low sodium, if possible)

- Canned fruit (in juice)

- Fruit cups

- Shelf-stable milk in individual milk boxes

- Cooking oils and spices

LESSONS AND CALENDAR

The First Sunday of Advent


The First Lesson: Jeremiah 33:14-16

Psalm: 25:1-9

Second Lesson: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

Gospel: Luke 21:25-36


The Week of December 1, 2024

Sun 12/1 via Zoom 9:00 am, Holy Eucharist in-person at Good Shepherd 10:30, Troop 97 3 pm, M de Vida 5 pm

Mon 12/2 M de Vida service 7 pm

Tues 12/3 SDA service 6 pm

Wed 12/4 Bible study, 11:30 am

Thurs 12/5 SDA 6 pm

Fri 12/6 SDA 6 pm

Sat 12/7 SDA service 9 am & 6 pm, food collection, 11 am, M de Vida service 6 pm

Sun 12/8 Zoom 9:00 am, in-person at Good Shepherd 10:30 am, Panda computer class, 1 pm, BS Troop 97 3 pm, M de Vida 5 pm

Zoom Readers (9 am):

Dec 1 Susan Womack

Dec 8 Florence Walters

Dec 15 Greg Wood

Dec 22 Deena Groshong


LEM & Lector

Dec 1 Diane Russell, Lillian Luksenburg

Dec 8 Debbie Beebe, Araba Pobee

Dec 15 Liz Cocke, Florence Walters

Dec 22 Linda Campo, Anna Gilcher

Ushers

Dec 1 Diane Janesko, Kirk Franklin

Dec 8 Grace Jallah, Rosemond Cole

Dec 15 Florence Walters, Kirk Franklin

Dec 22 Sal Campo, Erik Reiffenstein


Vestry on Duty

Dec 1 Lillian Luksenburg

Dec 8 Debbie Beebe

Dec 15 Liz Cocke

Dec 22 Sal Campo

Altar Guild

Dec 1 Diane Russell, Elisa Elliot

Dec 8 Debbie Beebe

Dec15 Melissa Garcia

Dec 22 Millie Mautz

OFFER PRAYERS INTENTIONALLY TO GOD FOR ALL HIS PEOPLE:

Carol Lewis (GS member), Rosemond Cole (GS member), Sue Womack (GS member), Frank Desmond (GS member), John Elliott (GS member), Joan DeMoss (GS member), David Jeter (GS member), Althea Peters (GS member), Joanne Cate (former GS member), Phil Clark (Lynette Clark's father), Madison Smith (friend of Linda Campo), Paul Crawford (brother-in-law of Patricia Dorn), Robert Tschinkel (friend of Patricia Dorn), Jeanette Ottley (friend of Florence Walters), Med and Lynette Douglas (family of Florence Walters), Kindra Nicole (relative of Rosemond Cole), Christina Ogg (daughter of Pat Ogg), Tracy and Hillary Brown (Godchildren of Florence Walters), Kyle Boggs, Ronald Walters (Brother of Florence Walters), The Hamiltons (Sister & Family of Florence Walters), and Tory Green (Friend of Florence Walters).


Names of Family and Friends will remain on the list for 4 weeks.

Clergy & Staff


Deborah Beebe

sr-warden@gsecmd.org


Deacon

The Rev. Linda Mahler

deacon@gsecmd.org



Organist & Choirmaster

George Drumwright

music@gsecmd.org


Megan Kennedy

Parish Administrator

assistant@gsecmd.org

Vestry & Delegates

Senior Warden

Deborah Beebe


Junior Warden

Sal Campo


Shaun Hardy

Ray Battistelli

Becky Parks

Liz Cocke

Vanvisa Sivali

Lillian Luksenburg


Delegates

Rosemary Addy

Eric Reiffenstein

Counters & Recorders (All serve on a rotating schedule.)



Ray Battistelli

Elisa Elliot

Kirk Franklin 

Arlene Mahon

Florence Walters

Greg Wood

Jim Woodhams

Allen Wyrick

GOOD SHEPHERD EPISCOPAL CHURCH

818 UNIVERSITY BLVD. WEST, SILVER SPRING, MD 20901

Quick Links: GS website GS facebook Episcopal Diocese

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